about the conflict
Israellaunched the offensive Dec. 27 in what it said was an effort to end
years of Palestinian rocket attacks from Gaza. The Palestinian Center
for Human Rights, which conducted a survey of casualties, says a total
of 1,417 people were killed, including 926 civilians during the 22-day
offensive.
Israel has disputed the findings, saying that most of the dead were
legitimate targets, but it offered no evidence. Thirteen Israelis also
died in the fighting.
"The general atmosphere among people I spoke to was ... the lives of
Palestinians are ... let's say far, far less important from the lives
of our soldiers," Ram said. The religious literature gave "the feeling
of almost a religious mission," he said.Jonathan
Peled, the Israeli Embassy spokesman in Washington, said that Israel
"absolutely" had no intention of expelling Palestinians from Gaza and
has no territorial or other claims there. While he hadn't seen the
religious literature mentioned by the soldier, he said the Israeli army
"is a secular army and is not run by any religious institution but by
army commanders answering to the democratically elected government of
the State of Israel."Brig. Gen. Avichai Mendelblit, the Israeli
army's chief prosecutor, on Thursday announced the first criminal
investigation into the killing of Palestinian civilians during Israel's
military incursion. He issued the order after the Haaretz and Maariv
newspapers published an account from the Oranim forum of how an Israeli
sharpshooter killed a Palestinian woman and her two children when they
inadvertently took a wrong turn after being released from detention in
their own home.There are questions about the Israeli Defense
Force's commitment to prosecute war crimes and burgeoning criticism of
the operation itself. According to Haaretz, the army first learned on
Feb. 23 of the Oranim forum allegations and obtained a full transcript
on March 5. The army told McClatchy on Thursday it had received the
transcript that day, but on Friday a representative said it had
received the document "a few days ago."The Israeli Embassy in
Washington said the army "holds itself to the highest moral and ethical
standards, and as such is investigating the claims with the diligence
one would expect in order to determine their accuracy, should further
action be required."